Kit Review

Straight build
+ partial painting + panel lining + decals

The universal standard of comparison — size check against a cigarette box.

HG Aile Strike Gundam - It's a small kit and the joints are nice and stiff, so it stands up straight even with all that gear

It's a small kit and the joints are nice and stiff, so it stands up straight even with all that gear on its back.

HG Aile Strike Gundam - The color separation isn't great, so there are quite a few spots that need partial painting. Top is t

The color separation isn't great, so there are quite a few spots that need partial painting. Top is the straight build state, bottom is after partial painting.
The head antenna in white, the dark gray on the neck and front chest, and the dark gray areas around the shoulders.

HG Aile Strike Gundam - The backpack connector has no color separation at all, so it needs to be partially painted dark gray.

The backpack connector has no color separation at all, so it needs to be partially painted dark gray.
The elbow area is also molded in white only, so that needs partial painting too.

HG Aile Strike Gundam - The shield also has no color separation and looks pretty bare, so partial painting is a must. (No sea

The shield also has no color separation and looks pretty bare, so partial painting is a must. (No seals included either.)

HG Aile Strike Gundam - The action-pose beam saber integrated hand that used to come with HGUC kits every now and then. Nice

The action-pose beam saber integrated hand that used to come with HGUC kits every now and then. Nice detail on it.

HG Aile Strike Gundam - The Aile pack. The red on the upper wing section needs to be handled with seals, but the rest of the

The Aile pack. The red on the upper wing section needs to be handled with seals, but the rest of the color separation is decent enough.

The verniers do look a bit bare though;;;

Articulation is about on par with the 1/100 — pretty average.

Ankle articulation is quite good, so ground contact is solid.

Action pose

Small kit, but it's got a surprisingly good sense of dynamism.

Beam saber action pose. Really should paint it, but I'll pass - ;;

HG Aile Strike Gundam - Comparison with the 1/100. The HG is a bit more plain in terms of detail, but it has its own clean, t

Comparison with the 1/100. The HG is a bit more plain in terms of detail, but it has its own clean, tidy charm.

HG Aile Strike Gundam - Alongside the HGUC RX-78. Aside from the color separation, the overall quality seems to be on a simil

Alongside the HGUC RX-78. Aside from the color separation, the overall quality seems to be on a similar level.

Straight build state (with seals applied)

With the start of the Gundam SEED anime, a 1/144 HG lineup kicked off alongside the simple no-grade 1/144 kits. And of course, the first release was the main protagonist's mobile suit — the Aile Strike Gundam.

Drawing on all the techniques built up through the HGUC series and beyond, the Gundam SEED 1/144 HG line delivers a clean level of quality overall. Compared to the 1/100, the detail tends to be a bit simplified — but that's just the nature of the difference between 1/144 and 1/100 across all kits. That said, while 1/144 kits may lack that intricate feel, they have their own neat, compact charm.

That said, being a smaller scale, the color separation isn't perfect. The HG Strike is actually one of the worse offenders in this regard — there are roughly five areas with no color separation and molded in the wrong color: 1. the head antenna, 2. the shoulder armor, 3. the section running from the chest and neck down to the back, 4. the elbow area, and 5. the shield. So straight out of the box, the straight build looks noticeably worse than the 1/100, and you really do need at least some partial painting to make it look presentable.

Articulation is on par with the 1/100 and impressive for the scale. The polycap joints in particular are on the stiffer side, which makes holding poses really easy. Thanks to that, it stands up straight even with the big Aile backpack on, and any action pose you put it in stays locked in place. Ankle articulation is also quite good, giving it solid ground contact — all in all, it's a small kit but it delivers a surprisingly dynamic feel in a lot of ways.

The Aile pack configuration is almost identical to the 1/100, including the fact that the red on the upper wings is handled with seals. The verniers (thrusters) on the back are completely plain with no detail, which is a bit of a bummer — but given the scale, I'll let it slide. ^^;

Overall, the kit itself is solid in terms of molded color, articulation, and sturdy joints. However, the poor color separation is still a fatal flaw for straight builders. It's a bit suspicious that the main protagonist's kit actually has worse parts separation than other Seed HGs — makes you wonder if it was designed in a bit of a rush. ^^;

HG Aile Strike Gundam | 2002. 11 | ¥1,200

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.